Liverpool Council bosses are to auction off town hall antiques to raise cash.

More than 170 items are to go under the hammer over the next few months, including furniture and other items dating back to the Victorian era.

But while council insiders estimate the whole catalogue – currently in storage in Huyton – is only worth around £30,000, it is possible if demand is high that the pieces could bring in a lot more.

As well as Victorian wardrobes, dressers and dining tables, there are more obscure objects from the 20th century which could be of interest to collectors including a 1950s television set in a period cabinet and a large old reel-to-reel tape recording machine.

But while some of the items are in good condition, some have fallen into disrepair in the years they have been boxed up and stored between the town hall, St George’s Hall and Croxteth Hall.

Town Hall manager Steve Gibbs said he hoped the items would be of some use to buyers, adding: “It would end up costing more for us to store them than they are worth so we’ve decided to sell them.

“There is a collectors’ market for these kind of things. While they’re of no real use to us now, if they’re sold they will at least be put to some use by people who want them.”

It is understood that the overall value of furniture and other artefacts that are currently in Liverpool town hall is around £4m.

The gold mayoral chains themselves are thought to be worth around £600,000.

A council spokesman insisted that no artefacts of high value would be auctioned off and there were no plans to do so in the future.

The spokesman added: “In storage we have 173 items which are of little value, many of which are broken and would cost more than their value to repair.

“They have never been on public display, do not hold the city’s crest and the long-term storage costs would be more than their total worth.